The Bins and Decent Docents - San Francisco Bay Area Talents

      The last year has been a productive one for musicians that call the Bay Area home. Here are two examples – The Bins and Decent Docents.

     The Bins are Clark Barclay and his talents friends. Clark is originally from Cupertino, but he says that he now “lives in the discount vinyl bin. Using only dollar bin records and other thrifted found sounds, The Bins tediously arranges sonic fragments into a musical mosaic— capturing an array of genres, cultures, and histories.”
 
     We are fans of The Bins and recognize the dedication that Clark has for each of his releases. But our favorites from The Bins tend to be singles in which the works of the 1960s and 1970s are featured. Thus, on the latest album (“Happiness Complete”), we gravitated to the final of the eight songs. “Beijos” is an education in the music history.
 
     “Beijos” begins with two relatively unknown singles, then seamlessly transitions to “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” by Lou Rawls. The first sampling is Tom Rush’s version of the Jesse Colin Young song “Lullable.” At 0:39, “Lullaby” and a discussion of sushi transform into a segment that includes a horns-touched single by The Calliope (“How About You (Clyde's Tune)”). Then, Lou Rawls enters at 1:20 with the song that functions as home base for the creativity of The Bins in crafting “Beijos.”
 
     The credits of “Beijos” identify the contributors as:

Produced by Clark Barclay

Bobby Salehnejad: electric guitar, bass guitar

Gabriel Soriano: bongos, congas, cowbell, shaker, tambourine

Michael Birnbryer-lao: saxophone

Jasmine Smith: violin

Clark Barclay: keyboard, sampler, turntables

Add'l production: Scott Zschomler

 
           The eight songs on the album “Happiness Complete” are available on Spotify (Spotify - CLICK HERE) and Bandcamp.

 
     “Beijos” by The Bins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebinsdigs
Bandcamp: https://thebins.bandcamp.com/

     Decent Docents are Noah Libby and Nick Testa. Both have roots with the band Blisses B. In talking about the music project, Noah said, “My old Blisses B bandmate Nick Testa (Drums/Bass/Engineer/Mixing) and I are at the helm.  We recorded everything at Mustang Studios aka Nick's Garage in Livermore, CA.”

      “Romancing the Stoned” was recorded during the pandemic lockdown. Quoting Noah again, “Those who didn't used to get high are getting high, those who always got high are getting really high.  Take a trip to the dispensary with us, courtesy of mandolins and keyboards.”

     “Romancing the Stoned” by Decent Docents

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/decentdocents/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-84117102